Family Fondue Night for a Sustainable, Nutritious Winter Meal by Ruth Paget
One of our family’s go-to winter meals in Salinas, California is Swiss fondue with cubes of day-old artisanal baguette bread to dunk. We purchase both of these protein-, calcium-, and energy-rich items at Nob Hill in Salinas.
My husband Laurent cuts half a loaf of baguette per person into cubes for the fondue. He says chopping the baguette into cubes takes about 5 minutes per person to do. Each person gets a bowl of bread cubes to dunk by their plate.
Once the bread is done, Laurent puts the fondue pot on the stove along with the contents of two Emmi Swiss Knight fondue packages and ½ to 1/3 bottle of Chardonnay wine. (We use Kirkland brand Chardonnay from Costco which tastes like a Kendall Jackson chardonnay. We drink the remainder of the bottle with our meal.)
You have to constantly stir the fondue cheese sauce and wine till they become smooth. This takes about 20 to 30 minutes. We like Emmi’s Swiss Knight Fondue for several reasons. First, they make the fondue with Swiss cheese and kirsch (Swiss cherry brandy). The packaging is secure and very neat to open. You can also store the fondue at room temperature till you are ready to open it, making it perfect for pantry storage. I think the packaging also discourages insects and rodents, because it is very sturdy.
I doubly like Emmi, because they have a subsidiary in Stoughton, Wisconsin outside Madison. This location has an all new facility devoted to sustainable product production. Emmi’s headquarters which are in Lucerne, Switzerland set up the Wisconsin location to create sustainable sourcing, production, and distribution. I like buying a brand that promotes a sustainable supply chain.
These are thoughts that come to you as you stir the fondue. The same is true of ruminations about the fondue set. My family uses a Swiss Cousances fondue set that my in-laws gave Laurent and me for Christmas when we were first married. We have saved money eating fondue throughout winter. If you like cheese, you might consider buying one.
When Laurent and I came back from living in Germany, we gave our daughter Florence Paget a Cuisinart fondue set, since California is also the number one producer of dairy goods in the US. I told her she would always have dinner, if she eats fondue here.
Once the fondue becomes liquid and bubbles with steam rising, it is time to move the fondue pot to the table. Fondue sets come with a stand with a hole in the center. This hold is for steno quick flame containers with flammable gel. You have to take off a secure lid and light these with a stove lighter before the fondue comes out. There is a cover with holes that you open to distribute flames underneath the fondue pot.
Place the fondue pot on top of the stand and dunk your bread in the cheese with forks provided with the set. California is rich in Chardonnay, so you can find it at all price levels.
The Swiss in Switzerland drink a wine called Fendant du Valais with fondue, which is sometimes listed on Swiss restaurants in the US.
A salad with creamy dressing and chopped tarragon are a nice finish to a fondue supper.
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Fondue Bubbling on a Fondue Stand We used two packages of Swiss Knight Fondue You can see bread cubes in a bowl in back |
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
